Liberals set to ditch embattled MP Moira Deeming as candidate
The Victorian Liberals are expected to remove an MP as a candidate for the upcoming election after she withdrew her legal action against the party.
A Liberal MP is facing disendorsement ahead of an upcoming state election despite dropping an eleventh-hour legal bid against her own party.
The Victorian Liberal Party called a meeting for Friday afternoon where they will vote on whether to remove MP Moira Deeming as a candidate for the November election.
Mrs Deeming announced on Wednesday she had withdrawn her Supreme Court challenge against party president, Brian Loughnane, which was initially sought to prevent the party from moving against her following an incident in May.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The MP, who sits in the upper house for the Western Metropolitan Region, had accused colleague MP Matthew Guy of grabbing her “violently” in a headlock, but since claimed she misunderstood the meaning of headlock.
Vision obtained by AAP from a function in May showed Mr Guy placing his hand on Mrs Deeming’s upper back as they lean in to talk to one another.
Mr Guy told reporters in June that Mrs Deeming had owed him a public apology, adding he vehemently denied that anything untoward took place.
“Moira Deeming owes me a public apology. I’m owed an apology by the premier and the attorney-general,” he said in a statement outside parliament.
“They can come to me the honourable and easy way, or a harder way.”
On Wednesday, Mrs Deeming sent a 12-page statement to the party’s state executive, providing a mediation proposal that allowed her to end the supreme court action.
“The state executive, having all the evidence before them, can now decide whether to pursue mediation or reconvene to disendorse me,” she said.
“Having been overseas and unwell when the story broke and jetlagged and unwell when the disendorsement meeting was called, the injunction gave me time to recover, review all the facts, learn the difference between a headlock and a collar-tie grip, and gather my thoughts.”
Mrs Deeming had attempted to stop the party from voting to drop her as a candidate for the November election during a one-day trial at the Supreme Court on Friday.
Although the legal action was officially withdrawn earlier this week.
The Victorian Liberal Party state executive will meet at 5.30pm on Friday, with a vote to disendorse her expected to be easily reached.
